There is an eight race card at Turffontein tonight and it sees the promising Mike de Kock-trained sprinter Rafeef turning out in the highest rated race on the card, the seventh, which is a MR 91 Handicap over 1160m.
This robust four-year-old Australian-bred colt by Redoute’s Choice has had an interrupted career and this will only be his sixth start. However, he is full of class and won a Graduation Plate over 1200m at the Vaal with a bit in hand last time out, despite it being his first outing for seven months. He was raised the maximum number of points to a merit rating of 86. However, it is a capped rating as he ran to a higher mark than that. Therefore, on paper, he has an easier task here in this handicap. He should have benefitted from the run too. He will be hard to beat and is rated the best bet on the card.
Mike de Kock
The value bet on the card could come in the last race in the form of the Sean Tarry-trained Penultimate, a three-year-old colt by Captain Al out of a Fort Wood mare who won over a mile. He won easily over 1200m on debut after being backed and last time out raced quite strongly over 1400m before being run out of it late by the promising Copper Pot. That run suggested he would appreciate the step down in trip and off a mark which has come down from a high of 86 to 79 must have a chance.
Another value bet could be Seventh Heart in the fifth race, a MR 88 Handicap for fillies and mares. She caught the eye on Grand Heritage day when running from an impossible number one draw over 1475m and only finishing 4,3 lengths back. She was therefore slightly disappointing next time out off a three point lower merit rating from a plum draw over 1400m on the Vaal Inside track. However, finishing only 1,9 lengths back, it was not a bad run. The handicapper has now given her another three points relief and she has a fair draw of five. Furthermore, her best ever run was over this course and distance, when winning a MR 80 Handicap for fillies and mares easily back in March last year in just her fourth career start. She has not won since, but runs here off a mark seven points lower than the mark she won that race off.
Another horse who looks ripe for victory is Mythical Magic in the sixth, a MR 68 Handicap for fillies and mares over 1400m in which only seven of the 12 runners are in the handicap. She has a wide draw but Raymond Danielson is back aboard, having produced a flying finish from her in her penultimate start over 1450m on the Turffontein Inside track after dropping her out from a wide draw. She is not the easiest to settle but if Danielson, who has a fine pair of hands, can manage to find cover again she is the one to beat.
Penultimate, Seventh Heart and Mythical Magic are all from the Sean Tarry yard and he could also win the first and second races with Lolita Delago and Furiosa respectively. The former showed pace throughout on Saturday over 800m, finishing third, and the experience will have helped ahead of this 800m dash. Furiosa strikes as a classy sort with a bright future and he should relish the step up to 1400m tomorrow evening.
By David Thiselton
